Johnny Depp is no longer Jack Sparrow in Disney’s reboot of the Pirates films

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

Disney Studios is planning a reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean but Johnny Depp will not be returning as Jack Sparrow.

Depp, who has played the iconic role for all the Pirates franchise, has been plagued by different issues and personal drama for the past four years.

Stuart Beattie, the original scriptwriter, will also be out for the next Pirates film as Disney hired the writing team behind the blockbuster Deadpool.

It looks like it’s time to say goodbye to Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. Maybe you also know the star as Edward Scissorhands, or for his other quirky roles in different Tim Burton movies.

Depp has played the lead role of the iconic pirate since the first movie The Curse of the Black Pearl was released in 2003. The latest and fifth movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, did not perform much in the box office compared to previous films. Over the past four years, Depp has had a string of personal dramas and issues including his split from Amber Heard as well as his problems with drinking.

Disney Studios has a plan for a reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the celebrity has been dropped. Stuart Beattie, the original scriptwriter for the franchise, was the first to publicly confirm this. Beattie, during a red carpet event in Hollywood, told DailyMailTV that Depp is out.

“I think he’s had a great run. Obviously, he’s made that character his own and it’s become the character he’s most famous for now.”

Beattie believes that Jack Sparrow will be Depp’s legacy since it’s the only character the actor has reprised five times as well as the character the star dresses up as when he visits children in hospitals.

“It’s what he’ll be remembered for.”

According to recent reports, the reboot’s script is in the hands of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, also known as the writing team for Deadpool. Beattie himself has not been asked by Disney to return for the reboot. He says he would love to be involved but he won’t frown either if the call doesn’t come.

“The fact that they’re rebooting something that you did, means that you did something that is worth rebooting. So I tend to look at it as the glass half full and it’s an honor to be rebooted.”

We can look forward to Beattie’s next project, an Australian independent film Danger Close, the Battle of Long Tan- a true story about the biggest battle fought by the Australians during the Vietnam war.